After the former One Direction member’s recent departure, Zayn Malik and Selena Gomez sparked collaboration rumors.

Malik and Gomez’s collaboration hopes were boosted on Wednesday after the former followed the female singer on Instagram. The official Twitter page of Pop Base shared a screenshot of the development, which showed the “Pillow Talk” hitmaker now following 18 people, including Gomez.

Some speculated that the singers might be dating because Malik’s mother followed Gomez on Instagram. Meanwhile, most fans discussed their potential music collaboration.

One supporter proposed a theory, writing:

“Imagine if my theory is correct and dj snake will give us a selena gomez x zayn malik collab.”

However, the collaboration should be viewed with caution because no formal announcement has been made.

Fans remain hopeful because both artists have expressed a desire to create new music soon.

The musicians’ previous statements about music projects resurfaced amid the collaboration rumors.

During a “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” appearance in December 2022, the “Lose You To Love Me” singer revealed that she plans to have fun with her songs and say goodbye to writing sad-girl songs for the time being.

She said that people would like it once they heard it, “hopefully” in 2023.

Meanwhile, according to Malik’s artist pages, the singer is working on his fourth studio album, which will be his first project since releasing “Nobody Is Listening” in 2021.

Aside from a possible collaboration, observant fans assumed Malik was showing his support for Gomez amid Hailey Bieber’s drama. Malik’s ex, Gigi, and her sister Bella are friends with Justin Bieber’s wife, who was recently chastised for allegedly bullying Selena Gomez.

It all started when the singer expressed her love for Bella before posting about “accidentally” laminating her brows too much.

Hailey’s friend, Kylie Jenner, appeared to throw shade by posting a selfie with the text “this was an accident???” on her brows. She also shared a screenshot of her FaceTime call with Hailey, with their brows zoomed in on their camera.

Gomez recently responded to a video of Hailey gagging when Taylor Swift’s name was mentioned in “Drop the Mic.”

In response to the fan-submitted video, she wrote:

“So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.”